Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Baseball team is back at home for another MIAA series this Friday-Sunday. Visiting Joplin is the Emporia State Hornets, traveling from Emporia, Kansas. Game one of the series is scheduled to start at 3:00pm on Friday, games two and three have start times of 1:00pm, taking place on Saturday and Sunday.   

Game Information:
Teams: Missouri Southern (17-4, 5-1 MIAA) vs Emporia State (12-8, 3-3 MIAA)
Date: March 8-10 (Friday-Sunday)
First Pitch: 3:00pm, 1:00pm, 1:00pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Warren Turner Field
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Scouting the Lions
The Lions were ranked #10 in the most recent NCBWA poll, taking a 17-4 record into this weekend's series with Emporia State. They began the year with a big 7-2 victory over #17 Southern Arkansas, and Cole Gayman was named the National Pitcher of the Week for his performance. The offense exploded in game two, winning 16-4 over Henderson State. Another strong offensive performance occurred the next day as the Lions defeated Arkansas-Monticello 10-6. Ouachita Baptist took the final game of the opening tournament, 8-1. In their first mid-week contest with SWOSU, MSSU plated a few late, but fell 7-4 to the Bulldogs. 

The Lions outscored the Ouachita Baptist Tigers 26-2 in their home opening series, taking game one 15-1 in seven innings, game two 6-0, and game three 5-1. In another mid-week contest, the Lion bats exploded for 21 runs against Oklahoma Baptist, ending it 21-6 in seven innings. Missouri Southern then picked up five wins in four days with big victories over MSU-Mankato 2-1, Illinois Springfield 5-2, and Northeastern State 14-6. In their first MIAA series, they took two out of three against Fort Hays State, taking game one 14-10, game two 23-5, and dropping game three 5-3. MSSU fell to Oklahoma Baptist in their second meeting this year, splitting the season series with the Bison. In the first MIAA series of the year, the Lions swept the Jets by scores of 15-0, 7-6, and 11-9. 

Henry Kusiak became the program's all-time hits leader last weekend, recording his 258th hit to break a record that has stood since 1992. He leads the team in nearly every hitting category, recording a .429 batting average (33-77), collecting 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 home runs this season for a .857 slugging percentage. From those hits, he has driven in 33 runs and scored 30 himself. Additionally, Kusiak was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week on February 26. 

Will Doherty has also recorded 7 home runs, going 30-81 (.370) at the plate with 3 doubles and 2 triples as well. His 30 RBI ranks second on the team and he has crossed the plate 29 times this year. 

Leadoff batter Drew Townsend enters Tuesday's contest 26-69 (.377) with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 13 RBI, and 29 runs scored. His .593 on-base percentage leads the team, as he has drawn an NCAA Division II leading 34 walks this year. 

Cole Gayman has made five starts this year, leading to a pair of awards in the MIAA POTW the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week. Over his 27.0 innings pitched this year, he has given up 15 hits, 6 earned runs, and 14 walks, striking out 32 batters in the process. He is holding opposing hitters to a .160 average. Cale McCallister and Trent Harris have each picked up a couple of wins as well. McCallister has struck out 25 over 22.0 innings pitched, and Harris has retired 29 by strikeout over 26.0 innings. Out of the bullpen, Kyle Moore has recorded 3 saves and 2 wins over 18.1 innings pitched, striking out 18 batters. 

Scouting the Hornets
The Emporia State Hornets enter the weekend at 12-8 overall, 3-3 in conference play. They started the year with a big 17-1 win over East Central, but fell 6-2 to Oklahoma Baptist. In a four game series with Colorado School of Mines, ESU took three out of the four. They then split a four game series with CSU Pueblo and dropped another non-conference game to Northwestern Oklahoma State. In their first conference series, the Hornets traveled to Maryville, MO where they took two of three against the Northwest Missouri Bearcats. They dropped two of three in their next MIAA series against Washburn, falling 9-8 in game one, winning 14-11 in game two, dropping game three 18-4. Earlier this week, the Hornets had two major victories over Upper Iowa, taking both contests by a score of 12-0 in seven innings. 

Five Hornets are hitting .300 or better, led by Kadyn Williams (#2) who is hitting .371 (26-70) on the year. He has recorded 5 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 home runs, driving in 19 runs and scoring 19 himself. Logan Myers (#12) has a team-high .523 on base percentage, drawing 15 walks in addition to his 17 hits. Those hits include 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 home runs. Patryk Hernandez (#19) leads the team with 20 RBI and is tied for the most hits (26), recording 4 doubles and 4 home runs. 

Ian Lanik (#21) is the team's strikeout leader, striking out 29 over 26.0 innings this year. His record is 1-1 in 5 starts, recording a complete game shutout in the process. Cade Barton (#7) has struck out 26 batters over 30.0 innings this year. He is 1-2 with an ERA of 3.90. Tanner Dawe (#11) leads the team with a 3-0 record, appearing in 5 contests for the Hornets.Over his 10.1 innings pitched, Dawe has struck out 7 batters and given up 3 runs.